


To Live and Love

by Ejr1999



Category: The Legend of Zelda & Related Fandoms, The Legend of Zelda: Hyrule Warriors
Genre: Linked Universe (Legend of Zelda), Warriors finding peace
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-14
Updated: 2019-10-14
Packaged: 2020-12-14 23:17:37
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,433
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21023861
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Ejr1999/pseuds/Ejr1999
Summary: Having someone chase you around declaring her love is bound to leave some after-effects. It certainly has for Warriors. He can't even hear those three words without a flashback from his war. Maybe some of the more affectionate Links can fix that?





	To Live and Love

"I love you guys. Have a good night." A simple phrase slipped casually from the mouth of their scarred friend before he slid into his bedroll placed on the ground. Everyone else just stared at him like he had grown a second head. His mentor simply sat next to him and stroked his hair in return, preferring to put his feelings into action. A chuckle rang out from the other side of the campfire before a child's response came. The man in armor walked over to Twilight and patted his shoulder before leaning down to ask a question. A gentle snore echoed from everyone else already curled up in their bedrolls. A tall man played with the end of his long blue scarf as he shuffled uncomfortably before clearing his throat.

“Goodnight, Wild. I hope you have pleasant dreams as well." Warriors glanced at the area where the three men were talking. He didn’t know whether to go over there and figure out what brought it up or to go to bed and see if that was a crazy dream. Deciding his companions had the nightly chatter taken care of, he retired to his bedroll. Shuddering, he pulled the blanket over his shoulders and closed his eyes tightly to convince himself that he was asleep.

Love. I love you. Those words haunted Warriors as he kept his eyes closed. They bounced around his head, gaining momentum and volume until he felt his mind was about to explode. All he could think of were those words. Hearing his companion’s voice, who he thought of like a brother at this point, coming out of her body. In his mind, he saw her stalking towards him, whispering how much she adored him, with madness in her eyes. She started a war over love. Love over him. How many people were caught in the crossfire? How many innocents bled in the streets as she proclaimed that it was a worthy cause to prove her love? How many nights will their eyes mock him for causing a war he wanted nothing to do with as their bodies dragged themselves out of their graves echoing Cia’s cries?

"I have to get up," Warriors muttered to himself before flinging his blanket off and wrenching open his eyes. The fire was low. He wasn't sure how much time had passed, but he did know that he wasn't getting any rest tonight. Gazing around the campsite, he noted where each of his companions was. Twilight and Wild were still sleeping near the edge, but close enough to the fire to trace their outlines. Sky and Wind slept near each other taking in what little heat they could share. Four and Legend slept on near him, dead to any troubles that were going through Warriors’ mind. Glancing at Time, who stayed near the edge of the circle with a hand close to his blade, he gave a small sigh of relief. She wasn't there. She never was there, but the dreams always felt so real. He quietly stood, determined to make himself useful by taking over the watch for the rest of the night from Hyrule. He could barely make out his form with the little light Warriors’ had to walk by.

"Hey, you're up pretty early? Why aren't you getting your beauty rest Warriors?" Hyrule's soft voice broke through the spell the night had placed. The young man stood, stretched out his sore muscles, and quickly made his way over to where Warriors was standing in thought. Once he reached him, Hyrule shook the tall man, hoping he wasn't sleepwalking as some of the other Links had done before. "Seriously, you're starting to freak me out now. Just say something." He started to shake him a bit harder until Warriors placed his hand on top of the smaller one.

"How do you do that?" Warriors asked quietly into the night, not making any moves on who he directed his question towards. "How do you casually say something that has toppled empires and brought even the most powerful to their knees?" Still lost in thought, Warriors dropped his gaze to the hero in front of him. Faintly, he recalled his original purpose of taking over the watch. A light brush of purple sweeping through his peripheral vision told him that it wouldn't be a great idea at the moment. He had to know though. What made this time any different? Wild wouldn't topple empires for them unless they were run by villains. He knew that. Wild wouldn't go around and slaughter people in the street just to get his way. So, why was he unable to hear those words coming from his mouth? They were in the middle of another war; Warriors didn't have the time to deal with this issue! He needed to move on and stay strong enough to fight. He needed to keep up the face of a soldier. He needed to… He needed…

He needed to return the hug that shattered his thoughts into a million pieces. 

“I don’t know what happened on your adventure, Warriors, but I do know what happened on mine. There were never any people that I could trust to help me out. That was if I stayed in one place long enough to make any connections with the people around me. Now that I’m here, now that I have people who I can get close to and make those connections, I want them to know how much they mean to me. Yeah, love can topple and destroy. But, can’t it also build and create? Wild’s Hyrule sounds so much like mine, I wouldn’t be surprised if he has the same emotions that he wants to share. I know that it’ll be hard, but please keep that in mind. Okay? We all care about each other so much- including you.” Hyrule’s words, muffled through Warriors’ shirt, finally reached his ears. He clutched the smaller boy to his chest, registering the wet tear tracks down his face and sobbed freely. 

Giving a last small hiccup, Warriors squeezed Hyrule one last time before moving away. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, cursing the fact that he had left his scarf back at his bedroll. There was only so much that he could hide his red face without it. Granted there wasn't much of a point to hide his face because Hyrule had already seen it and had stayed with him as he cried his heart out. There was so much he had kept close, perhaps too much, and now he had a chance to lay it to rest. Knowing that it wouldn't happen overnight, he decided that he would try to make it through the night. He would try to let love build instead of destroying like he had seen it do so often in the past. He gave Hyrule a watery smile and took a deep breath.

“I think I get it. Cia, the woman who I had to fight first, would say that to justify her fight. I still hear it coming from her mouth sometimes. I can try though. I just… I want to show her that she doesn’t have power over me anymore.” His voice trailed off into the night. “Thanks, Hyrule. If it’s alright with you, can I take over the watch? I have a few things I need to think over and the Old Man will be curious if both of us are tired on the march tomorrow.” Begging with his eyes, Warriors tried to finish the task that brought him out of bed. Hyrule gave him a sharp look, torn between not leaving him alone and recognizing that he needed his space. 

“Fine. But in return, you need to trust us to help you in the future.” Hyrule gave Warriors one last hug before scampering off towards the light of the campfire to catch a few more hours of sleep. Warriors just watched with a small smile on his face, grateful that he didn’t pry into his adventure. He wondered though. Would the phrase sound like Cia if it came from his mouth? If he was going to try and heal from that war, he would have to figure that out. Still feeling the amount of affection Hyrule conveyed, Warrior decided that this night would be as good as any to find out. Letting his eyes run between the figures sleeping contentedly in the shadows around him, he finally said how he felt about his companions- no- about his brothers.

“Goodnight you guys, I love you.”

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by some of the headcanons on the Linked Universe discord. I couldn't find them again, but I loved the idea. I personally headcanon that Warriors can't hear someone say "I love you" without having a flashback. I wanted to see how some of the 'affectionate Links from destroyed Hyrules' would rub off on someone who might not have the same views as them.


End file.
